Inspired by Kevin's website, I decided to finally give mine an overhaul. I finally came to the realization that I wanted to try a new coloring scheme and feel that the one picked out works well.

I figured since Kevin's page about our book reveals what the definitive title is, I might as well take it one step further to reveal a little bit about the book in preparation for its finish.

The title - "I" - is a simple one. That's it. And believe it or not, a lot of thought and time went into it, but I felt that nothing else would better suit this collection of writing that is being presented with Kevin's graphical skills.

I'm proud of what we've accomplished so far, and can't wait to reveal the final product when it's ready.

Without further ado, you can check out the redesigned website here (or via link on the navigation menu):

travisprange.com

Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone enjoyed the latter part of 2007 and going into 2008. I know I did, even though I'm a little bit foggy on what happened just after midnight. Something having to do with drinking, "Jump on it," and excessive chasing of animals.

In the days following I've been catching up on Lost, since Season 4 returns January 31st. In all honesty it's my favorite show at this point (ever) and I feel there are good reasons for this.

Lost represents, in my opinion, the third (major mainstream) attempt at capturing a major audience for network television. As defined by wikipedia: "serial drama's typically follow main plot arcs that span entire seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television."

According to wikipedia, shows like "Buffy" and "Angel" and "Babylon 5" are among the first ones. Certainly I've never watched any of those shows, but the real beginning was with "The X-Files." Although most of its episodes were more along the lines of "monster-a-week" episodes (that didn't need to be viewed in order), most of the substance of the series focused on the government's involvement with aliens/cover-ups and such. It was a pioneer and spawned many shows that would follow.


Fast forward to 2001. September 11th just happened, and "24" was supposed to air within weeks. The first episode deals with a passenger airplane that gets bombed by a female assassin. Due to the circumstances of the plot, the pilot was pushed back to November. 24 went on to be a smash hit, with every episode dealing with one hour in time, and a whole season taking place within 24 hours (hence the title - duh). The great and monumental part of this show was that it was an addictive thriller that was like crack for the normal deprivations of television: it required a consistent fan-basis, tuning in every week to find out what happens next.


Continue to 2004. "Lost" airs on September 22. It deals with the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 on an island that is "magical." The writing (and detail) to the show is absolutely astounding, as every season just dives deeper and deeper into the mythology of the island and its strange characteristics. I find myself watching it again right now, because frankly after 3 seasons, it's amazing to go through all of them from the beginning and realize what I missed and just how deep the mythology goes. It also has some classic science-fiction writing which I absolutely love.


In 2006, "Heroes" does more of the same. It follows a group of people who are destined to use their everyday likeness (but superpowers within) to save humanity and preventing catastrophe. I haven't watched the show simply because I refuse to keep up with the 3 major serial dramas and the usual shows I enjoy (The Office, and South Park when time permits). It was enough of a struggle getting past my addiction to 24 (as I have normally loathed television), but I will watch Heroes when Lost and/or 24 are off the air.


John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) - Lost

Lost seems to be the most unique (that I know of), as watching the show from the beginning, a viewer can get the sense of a show that knows where it's going from the first couple of episodes. The pilot episode retains characteristics that resound throughout the entire series (so far), and that formula is maintained somewhat strictly. The fact that ABC and the producer's of Lost determined that the series will end after just 48 episodes more (though split up into 3 seasons of 16 episodes apiece), just goes to prove that this is a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Unlike 24, whose plot has waffled and (in my opinion) has struggled to find its purpose since its 4th season.


Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) - 24

The amazing thing here is that it shows that television audiences are hungry for something other than the usual crappy television that we grew up with in the 80's and 90's and are ready for our minds to run rampant with ideas, theories, and connections. 24 started a modern version of this with an adrenaline-filled Die Hard-esque plot. Lost extends this notion to a science fiction thriller that deals with science, faith and our humanity (and the connections as a result of this humanity). Heroes certainly takes it in another direction, apparently emulating the style of comic books with characters who are everyday Joe's with extraordinary powers.

(I've only been a fan of Batman for the very notion that his story is the most believable of any superhero.)

Sadly, the writer's strike seems to have shorted (or altogether stopped up) production/airing of these shows. Heroes third season aired 7 out of 24 episodes, 24's Season 7 won't start until the producers are certain it can run in its entirety (which I like), and Lost will air 8 out of its 16 episodes for Season 4 beginning 1/31.

It amazes me though how far television has come and it makes me excited to see how it will evolve in the future. One thing's for sure: The X-Files started something big.

And the audience proves its ability to handle even more.

Well the decision has been made. With nearly $3,500 worth in "damage" (as I like to call it) to my beloved Wrangler, the time has come to bid it adieu. So the search will begin I think in early 2008 to get a vehicle, which I'm pretty dead set on another Wrangler, being black and probably 4 door. It's just too perfect for my needs and wants (and compliments the Colorado environment perfectly with being a convertible and 4X4).


(This is still one of my absolute favorite pics of it, taken in 2003 at Lake Waco with Kevin's digital camera)

So I bought a poster from Allposters.com last night. Big whoop, you might say. Well, I log onto Facebook and somehow it's tracked my purchase. Turns out it's some 3rd party software tracking thing, as mentioned in this article:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,14018 ... ticle.html

Which I think is just crazy. I've come so close to deactivating Facebook in the last couple months for stuff like that. It feels like an invasion of privacy. I'm sure companies do that anyway (hello Google ads?) but still - KNOWING that it's happening and seeing it work is scary.

So Jane gave me a Jack Bauer figure made by McFarlane Toys a couple days ago. She acquired it from the newspaper she works for somehow. It's pretty badass though:



It makes me want to get more movie/TV memorabilia. Like the freaking endoskeleton from Terminator 2. They have 18" figures of the thing (and I even found lifesize ones for $6K! How freaky would that be?) that I want to get and sort of start a small collection of badass figures. I have some Halo ones (McFarlane comes out with a couple in March also), but I think it'd look awesome to have a Batman, Master Chief, Darth Vader, Endoskeleton, and Jack Bauer on the same shelf. I think someday I'll have some sort of room for all this crap. But who knows. Seriously, is this not badass??



I read an article on a push for faster broadband (mostly in the UK), which I think is kind of stupid. It kinda feels like the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray thing...DVD's are barely 10 years old and a new format came around? The successor to CD's is clearly MP3's, but I think a format that replaces or supplements both will come out eventually, but even CD's have been out for nearly 25 years! Some of these technology pushes seem ridiculous. But anyway, the article had a couple cool points geographically about broadband adoption. I did a 28 page paper in a comm class to see if our connectivity has given us any more knowledge of world events, so I think stuff like this is interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7098992.stm

Oh, and speaking of Endoskeleton's and Terminator films, Christian Bale is signed on to be John Connor in what the hopes of becoming a new trilogy of Terminator films.

Now before this took off, I figured it would be crap. I've come to like Bale though, and honestly if they can pull off a good movie I'll be happy. I'll see it either way, if nothing else to see those freaking Endoskeletons once again duke it out and crush skulls, and destroying my possibility of pleasant dreams for months.

Those things are horrifying. I just hope a 4th film won't be. Currently it's titled "Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins."

Speaking of Christian Bale, I think The Dark Knight will kick ass. I'm going to check out I Am Legend which has a rumored 8 minute prologue (or something similar) to TDK. These promo pics make it look like everything I know it'll be. Can't freaking wait.



And on that note, good night!

I know it's been a while since I've written, but what a crazy month it's been! I've finally updated all of my information on the travel blog, and am about to post more entries there from my trip to Brazil last fall.

Along those lines, it's always crazy to see headlines and realize that I've been to some of the places that are mentioned. For instance, this story illustrates a reporter getting killed en route to Sucre to cover the unrest that's been evident for quite some time:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7112875.stm

Which is just crazy.

I got back from Minneapolis last night to enjoy a good Thanksgiving with my family. I counted 10 airports that I've traveled through in 4 states and 3 countries in the last 2 months. I've never traveled so much. It's weird because my timelines have shifted: I'm not sure exactly where I've been or what I've done since/between/before these travels.

3 weeks ago I bought the iPhone, just because I'm a consumer whore. Well that's not the only reason, but I really wanted one after playing with Kevin's in Texas. I must say that I love the little thing. That being my 4th major electronics purchase this year (including a new computer, surround sound system and digital camera), I'm spent. I hope that I'm caught up at least for the next year, because I can't afford my tech habits!

My Jeep is currently in the service department at the local dealership, simply because I'm tallying up all the "damage" as I like to call it - to determine if it's worth keeping around or trying to get a new vehicle.



I'm certainly considering this:



But am not sure if it will fit into my budget. A lot of realigning is going to happen with finances, but fortunately with a good trade in value on my Wrangler, it shouldn't be a huge issue. Tomorrow then, is D-Day.

I love surfing online and realizing one of my favorite musicians (Jon Crosby of VAST) has released a new album that's a solo piece with just him and acoustic guitar (apparently). I was just thinking today that at his rate, he'd have something new (or modified) out by the end of the year. So $4.99 later, I've got the MP3's and am ready to go. Jeez I love technology!



Lots of things are coming up in the next month or so including the holiday party for my company, possibly acquiring a new vehicle (likely), DVD's (LOST, 24) and just the holidays in general.

I hosted another LAN party a couple of weeks ago and it was just as fun and successful as the last. The third one won't happen at least until 2008, but that being 5 weeks away, that's not too far.

Once again I'm excited (as always) about everything that's coming up. I'm thankful for all that I have and am excited to push on towards my dreams. I feel that now I can sort of focus on some job stuff and get that done, and am confident that a lot of things seem to be going my way. Even after this lousy speeding ticket.



Ouch.

My brother and niece are coming out for Christmas which I'm genuinely excited for. It's been a long time since I've been around any children during Christmas (probably myself and my brother growing up), so seeing the family expand and such is great. I'm stoked. My niece is the first woman to be born on my dad's side in nearly 100 years. And on my mom's side, the first in about 50 years. So she's a pretty big deal. And so very cute.



Anyway, I will update more later. I hope everyone's well and enjoying the season.

Keep your fingers crossed for snow!

I think one of the things that baffles me is how the internet creates connectivity. Celebrities email their friends, who may or may not be ordinary Joes, just like you and me. But those celebrities have celebrities as well, people they would be honored to meet (athletes, whatever). So in a way it's all relative.

Anyway, I decided a month or so ago to send a message over MySpace to BT, one of my favorite musicians (and personal heroes), asking him for an address to send him something and to tell him what an inspiration he is and how blown away I am by his work. Mainly "This Binary Universe" (TBU) - an instrumental album that has an accompanying DVD with animations and just trippy/awesome themes.


Anyway, I received a response from him this week, in which he wrote to me:

TBU II will blow your mind :) It'll be 2 years from now because of the animations but your gonna freak.

First the new BT album!!
here's my addy
----------------
----------------

THanks man :)

B

I deleted his address for obvious reasons, but the cool thing here is twofold:
1. I have personal confirmation of a follow up to his amazing latest album. This is the first I've heard of any "sequel" or anything.
2. Hearing from a personal hero/celebrity? Completely star struck.

On a side note, I am downloading a side project of Trent Reznor's that's going the way of Radiohead. I decided to support it, as I think any artist these days who is willing to innovate and offer/provide non-DRM tracks is truly in the know of their audience. The particular artist is the following:

Niggy Tardust

Anyway, tomorrow's off to Texas...plenty of updates upon my return!